Category: The Christian Spirit

Reflections on living as a disciple of Christ.

The C. S. Lewis Conference: A Report

  

I had a wonderful weekend at the C. S. Lewis Foundation’s summer conference held at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Why was it held there? I’ll get to that. As I did last fall, I presented a paper at the Academic Roundtable, a time for deeper thinking as a group of academics listened and discussed what each had to offer. The most interesting part of such a roundtable is getting perspectives from different disciplines. I was the only historian… Read more »

Celebrity “Conversions”: The Trump Report

  

In my decades as a Christian believer, I’ve witnessed a number of claims about celebrities who recently became Christians. In my early years, each claim was very exciting, as it seemed to show how God’s mercy reaches to everyone no matter how morally depraved they have been. Then I would expectantly wait for their lives to be changed and their testimony to be life-changing for others. Most of the time, I have been disappointed; they seemed to continue on their… Read more »

A Culture of Corruption on Both Sides

  

There is a growing angst in the hinterlands about our choices in this upcoming election. In the evangelical community, a divide is opening between those who have decided to support Donald Trump and those who cannot do so. As we navigate this divide, let’s please avoid personal invective and accusations against those of us who cannot vote for Trump, that somehow we are conspiring to have Hillary Clinton elected. I will repeat: in my view, both Clinton and Trump are… Read more »

Trump Meets the Evangelicals

  

Yesterday, 900-plus evangelicals met with Donald Trump to ask questions and try to figure out if they can support his candidacy. I know only some of the names of individuals who were present. The audience was mixed, I’m sure, in its attitude toward the presumptive Republican nominee. I don’t wish to unfairly criticize those who attended; in most circumstances, I too would want to have the opportunity to hear a candidate and get a better feel for him/her. Neither am… Read more »

The Antidote for Despair

  

We live in a culture spiraling down into depths of depravity that many of us never expected to witness. We have presidential candidates who are so corrupt that neither deserves a vote. We could, if we allowed it to happen, allow ourselves to spiral down into despair. God, though, doesn’t want that to happen. We need to stay focused. My daily Scripture reading this morning brought me to 2 Corinthians 5. I’ve been reading through the Scripture in the Message… Read more »

Stand for Righteousness

  

As a Christian I believe that salvation is offered to all who will acknowledge the sin in their lives, sincerely repent of it, and put their faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. I believe, as Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, that we are then obliged to “go and sin no more.” Further, I believe that no sin is outside the circle of God’s forgiveness. The sin of homosexuality is no exception. And the… Read more »

Jesus & Anxiety: A Lewis Primer

  

Another C. S. Lewis book that I read recently—for the first time—is Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer. One section speaks directly to me with respect to a hard time I’m going through at the moment. We would like the world to be predictable, something we can manage according to our expectations. Lewis says we have to lay that expectation aside: But is it not plain that this predictable world . . . is not the world we live in?… Read more »